


Funambule

by lideum



Category: K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2013-12-08
Packaged: 2017-12-19 07:04:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/880848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lideum/pseuds/lideum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo trains for his skywalk act at the end of the year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strings

     It was raining. Taekwoon gripped the railing as he leaned over the balcony, gazing at the city lights; his knuckles were wet, his hair dripped onto his shoulders, but he didn’t seem to notice. He wasn’t really there at all. His mind was lost to his daydreams, _boots thumping gently on the sidewalk. It was warm, and the sun was just starting to set. He watched it sink behind the buildings, quiet as always. The sun never made a fuss about turning in for the night. A gentle ballad played into his ears, something sad, sweet, and soothing. He took care not to let his headphones get tangled as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. 5:15. He promised a friend he would meet him in about fifteen minutes. But something caught his eye as he reached down to slip it back into his jacket, and he felt the red string pull taut. The string had never pulled taut before. A flash of color glinted. It had never seemed so solid. He knew what this meant. He turned - slowly, expectantly. And there she was, gorgeous and soft. His breath caught as he felt overwhelmed with emotion, swept away by the sheer idea of standing before the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. His eyes welled up and his heart leapt from his chest. Words were caught in his throat, and he was glad he couldn’t find the courage to speak them, as they would have come out clumsy, strewn about like dirty laundry. So much more was said in the swift steps he took toward her, in the way he took her hands in his, in the way they smiled together. There weren’t any words for this moment, no matter how many times Taekwoon had tried to think of them. There weren’t any words in his language that could capture his heart. He swallowed hard as he folded his fingers between hers. She blinked and said nothing, and it was all that needed to be said._

    The Taekwoon standing on the balcony, the daydreaming Taekwoon, smiled a faint smile as he glanced down at his fingers. The string was glistening in the rain and dull, grungy orange light buzzing above his head. It was loose as always. He was beginning to think that maybe it would never pull tight. Maybe his string was a dud, and the other end hung off the edge of a cliff somewhere in another country, a cliff he would never see. Or maybe his string simply faded out of existence. But he guessed he was still young, and he still had time, and someday he would meet her. He looked away, back out into the rain. The streets were slick, slippery, and he could make out the splashing in the puddles from the impact of the heavy rain. _It’s raining. It was more of a surprise downpour in the middle of a sunny day than anything, and the thunder was rumbling subtly off in some distant distance. She walked beside him, carrying herself with a smile despite the weather. Taekwoon wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer under his umbrella. It wasn’t very helpful; his jeans were already soaked, and he could feel the water sloshing in his shoes, in-between his toes. She, however, had taken her shoes off and held them in her free hand._

_“Don’t you think you’ll catch a cold like that?” He slowed down a bit, glancing at her sidelong._

_“Not at all! It’s pretty warm out today.” She flashed him a smile. His stomach fluttered. “Besides, we’ll be back at your place soon.” She let his hand go and skipped ahead. It was warm, but it was pouring. Her hair stuck to her back as she turned to face him, water dripping from her lips and her nose. She was grinning, and he was pretty sure he was definitely blushing. Her smile had always made his breath catch and his head spin. “Come on, Taekwoon! Drop the umbrella. It’s like swimming!” He scoffed and shook his head, but folded the umbrella anyway. He might as well._

_When they got back to his house, they striped the wet clothes from each other, and warmed themselves with their body heat._

    Taekwoon smiled to himself again, stepping away from the balcony. It was nice to daydream, but sometimes he wondered if he wasn’t setting his expectations a little too high, setting himself up for disappointment. She might not be anything like how he imagined, _watching her feet as she walked along the cracks in the sidewalk as if it were a tightrope. She was a funambulist, calculating every graceful movement she made. He took the thought back when she fell into the fountain, reaching for his sleeve to catch her balance. It wasn’t successful, and he couldn’t fight back the grin that spread across his face as the water splashed around them. Her laughter was loud, and she splashed to her feet, her hair dripping, falling around her face._

_“Come on, Taekwoon,” she extended her hand to him, her lips twitching mischievously, “get up!” And then, even though he could see what she was up to, he could practically see right through her, he reached up and took her hand. As soon as his fingers clasped around hers, she was slipping back into the water again, her joy splashing along with them. He sat up, brushing his hair out of his face and rubbing the water from his eyes. It smelled like chlorine, and it burned a little when he opened his eyes, the last little droplets of water dripping from his lashes into his eyes. His face didn’t stay dry for long, as he found himself face to face with a forceful wave of water from her hand. More laughter, and he smiled as he splashed her back, getting to his feet._

_“If that’s how you want to play this game,” he said, his hands finding their way back into the water. Bring it on, pretty lady. He swore he could hear bells twinkling in the sound of her voice and in their splashes as they stumbled through the knee-deep water, splashing and pushing and pulling._ But it probably wouldn’t be the same. He flipped the light switch down and slid the door open. It was quiet, save for the rain pattering overhead, and the door seemed to thunder. He hoped it wasn’t loud enough to wake his neighbors and stepped into the house. He didn’t realize how cold he had been until his toes began to go numb.

    The hot shower steamed up his bathroom. Taekwoon ran his fingers through his hair, leaning his head back to let the water run down his neck and collarbones. His hands slipped down his chest, brushing a sheet of water down over his abs. The heat felt nice on his body. It was another one of those slow nights, where his mind wandered to the future, and he wondered how his life might turn out. One of those nights where he was introspective, picking apart the inside of his own mind. Thinking, and also showering. He opened his eyes to reach for the soap, and caught a glimpse of the string. It was glittering in the spray of the water, gleaming in the steam. He caught a glimpse of the string and it was burning, like dynamite, sparks flying around the frayed ends. It burned up to his finger and combusts and hissed, searing pain shooting up Taekwoon’s arm, and he winced, cradling his hand close. He leaned back on the cold tile of his shower walls, shivering and biting his lip in a futile attempt to lessen the pain, which seemed to pulse through his body, permeated with a sense of loss. The string was gone.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo trains for his skywalk act at the end of the year.

Taekwoon opened his eyes as he stretched his toes over the rope. The lights were bright and he squinted a bit, lifting his chin and straightening his shoulders as he extended his arms. Bringing his second foot to his heel on the rope, he balanced his weight, gazing towards the other platform. The string was gone; it was all he found himself able to think about, even though he was over twenty feet above the ground. It had burnt away and left a nasty blister around his finger, a blister which shone in the buzzing spotlights overhead. He’d read many times what it meant for your string to burn away: your other half had died. After it happened, Taekwoon managed to find her. She’d died that night in the torrential rain; her car had skidded and wrapped around a tree, driving her crushed ribs into her lungs. He paid his respects to her family, though he had never met her, and at the wake, he folded his fingers between hers and apologized for never getting the chance to love her. He felt empty. While listening to the murmuring voices of her family and friends, he could have sworn he saw her chest rise and fall, but he knew that her hands were resting still and cold on her chest. She was gone. God dammit. His eyes watered up a bit as he took another step forward, his foot slapping the rope messily. He swayed a bit, but caught himself before he tumbled off the rope.

  
“Leo! Get your mind on the rope!” someone called to him from the ring floor. He sighed a bit, stretching his arms out more as he took another step. He was getting sloppy, and it wasn’t going unnoticed. He’d already slipped off the rope twice that week, and the rest of his act was impressed that he hadn’t sustained any injuries aside from the slight bruising on his elbows. And of course, this incited a lot of gossip from the other performers in the circus, things like: “Man, have you seen the blisters on Leo’s hands? I wonder what they’re from,” as they strain their necks to get a glance at his palms. He tended to keep his hands behind his back, as he helped with the staring. A few people seemed to know what had happened, and he could hear them whispering: “His soul mate must have died,” as they hang their heads and give them pitiful and sympathetic looks which sent chills of anger rushing down his spine. He didn’t need their sympathy.

  
Taekwoon continued on the rope a few more steps, his partner following cautiously behind him. The added weight on the rope upset Taekwoon’s balance, and he leaned dangerously to the left, flailing a bit in an attempt to keep his balance. It was, naturally, unsuccessful, and the acrobat slipped from the wire onto the trampoline below. He bounced a few times, letting his head fall back as he rolled his eyes at the groans of his coach.

  
“Leo! What was that?! I’ve seen more graceful steps taken by three-legged—“

  
“Moose. Yeah, yeah, I know,” he interrupted, sitting up. His mind had really been elsewhere since she died. He’d never gotten to get to know, at least, not in the way he wanted to. Over the week, he’d been spending a surprising amount of time with her family, getting to know them and hearing their stories.  They’d told him she was compassionate, much like he imagined, showed him her room. It was a lot different than he imagined. And she looked a lot different than he imaged. It was much better, but it was so bittersweet. He’d brushed his fingers across her desk to find that no dust had collected yet. There was a notepad next to her laptop with little encouraging notes scribbled on it, followed by hearts and happy faces, and little doodles of people in love. Her walls were mostly barren, and her bed was made (albeit not very well). On her bedside table sat an alarm clock set to be ten minutes fast and a picture of her and her best friend in Busan, both smiling. She looked young in the picture, or at least younger, and her hair was cut short. Her parents had offered the picture to him, but he’d declined their offer. She was their daughter, and they probably missed her more than he would.

  
“At this rate, we’re going to have to replace you for the show coming up. You’re way too distracted to perform, kid,” his coach placed his hand on his hip, giving the rope walker a once over. Taekwoon gave him a look, curling his lip a bit before slipping off the trampoline. He released the lock on his longe, letting the safety ropes slip out and drop to the floor near his feet. He pushed his hair back out of his face, and sat down on the barrier, facing toward the ring.

  
“It’s a little too late to replace me, don’t you think, Coach? The show’s coming up. A rookie wouldn’t have time to perfect a new routine,” Taekwoon seemed unconcerned, but the coach looked mildly irritated.  
“No, Leo, it’s not too late. In fact, we’ve already looked up a replacement. This is the third time this week you’ve fallen off the rope. You’re way too distracted to keep this up until the next show.” Taekwoon scoffed, lifting his head and gazing around the ring and the other side of the barrier opposite to him. And that’s when he noticed someone sitting on the other side of the barrier, with his back to the ring. The distaste was immediate. For performers, it was a deadly sin to sit on the barrier with your back to the ring, and to see someone do it so carelessly left a stale, rotten taste in Taekwoon’s mouth. He got to his feet.  
“Is that him?” He asked quietly, leaning a little closer to his coach. Coach shook his head, and Taekwoon was quiet for a minute, watching the younger boy slip his shoes on and jump to his feet. His stomach churned when he turned around, and flipped when he walked across the barrier and plopped down into the circus ring. He could feel his nose twitching slightly out of annoyance, but he willed it to stop as the boy stepped closer, extending his hand with a charismatic smile spread across his face.

  
“Leo, right? Han Sanghyuk. You can just call me Hyuk though!” He took Taekwoon’s hand without waiting for his response, and shook it enthusiastically. Taekwoon tried to force a smile, one that might match with Sanghyuk’s enthusiasm, but nothing was coming. He was bitter. Was the intent really to replace him? Had it really come to this? All because of what? A couple slip-ups? Nothing too major, anyway. It wasn’t like he had slipped from the line and broken his arm or his leg or something. Nothing was keeping him off the tight rope, so why replace him?

  
“Yeah,” he answered, almost begrudgingly, “yeah, I’m Leo.” He snatched his hand away, glowering at the younger boy. He was all smiles. Why was that so annoying to him? There was no way the kid didn’t know it was irritating. There was no way that smile wasn’t smug. He took a deep breath. And then coach spoke,

  
“You’ve already introduced yourselves, so I’d say we’re off to a good start!” he turned toward Leo, “and with that, I have a favor to ask of you.” Leo raised his eyebrow. A favor, huh? Kick him off the team, replace him, and then ask for a favor. Coach really knew how to step up his game, really knew how to get stuff done. Well, Taekwoon figured, he might as well entertain him.

  
“What is it, Coach?” Taekwoon crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

  
“Well, like I said, it’s not too late to replace you, but,” the Coach sighed, hanging his head a bit, “well, it is a little too late to teach this boy your routine.” A pause. “I mean, without your help, anyway!” It was pretty obvious to Taekwoon what this entailed. He was being replaced, and he had to teach his replacement the routine, work with him up until the show to make sure his each and every step was perfect. It was like ballet, only more concise, because it was like ballet but on a single strand suspended in the air. And it had to be perfect. His toes would have to bend the exact way Leo’s did, his legs stretch over the rope in the same form. His movements had to be tight, thought-out, careful. But they needed to look like it wasn’t science, like it was easy. Leo gave the boy a once over, while the coach continued, “it’ll just be for this show, as long as you show an improvement, we promise.” Taekwoon sighed, his eyes moving from Sanghyuk’s feet up to his eyes.

  
“Yeah, I’ll do it,” and he could have sworn Sanghyuk’s eyes lit up, like the spotlights in the rafters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever for me to post. Maybe I'll pick it back up, if anyone's interested.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the lack of length, I guess? More to come sometime this weekend or next week.


End file.
